FILE — Lane inspector Alex Davidson applies the apparatus for measuring auto emissions into the tail pipe of the next vehicle at the Air Care Colorado Emissions Testing Center in Broomfield in this 2010 Denver Post file photo.

Most Colorado motorists can look forward to getting an emissions test less often.

On Thursday, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission approved a program change to extend the testing period required for newer cars to seven years — the longest exemption period of any similar program in the county.

The commission’s action increases the model year exemption for newly-manufactured vehicles to seven years from four beginning in 2015.

“We have continued to evaluate the program to make it as efficient as possible,” said Garry Kaufman, deputy director of state health department’s Air Pollution Control Division. “This will be a good tool to reduce the cost of the program while maintaining the benefits.”

The changes could save motorists $2 million to $8 million annually, according to the Air Pollution Control Division analysis.

Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said the change could have happened years ago, but the timing it right. “It just makes sense.
New cars are 99 percent cleaner than pre-1990 models.”

A state audit released Dec. 12 questioned whether the inspection program is really needed for air quality, noting that 93 percent of vehicles tested pass.

While that is true, Kaufman said those that fail contribute disproportionately to the overall emissions, so tests do serve a purpose. “The dirty cars are not just a little dirty,” he said.

The state set up the auto-inspection program in 1980, and it now operates in nine metro Denver and northern Front Range counties. Cars made in 1981 or earlier must have annual emissions testing, while models from 1982 onward must be tested every other year.

Cars that flunk the inspections must be repaired and pass another test before owners can renew their tags. There were nearly 80,000 failures in 2011, Kaufman said.

This decision will have an impact on Envirotest, the company contracted to run the state’s vehicle emissions program, although it is too soon to know how it might affect jobs or locations, spokeswoman Renee Allen said.

Ryan Parker was a reporter for The Denver Post from 2011 until May 2014. A Colorado native, Parker started his career at smaller weeklies and worked for YourHub before becoming a breaking news reporter for The Post.

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